The company’s report and accounts for the year ending 31 December 2025 show the practice’s fee income slipped to £12.5 million from £14.8 million in the previous financial year. It means the firm’s income has gone down for two successive years following a record £16.1 million turnover posted in 2023.
The number of employees at David Chipperfield’s practice has fallen again, too. In 2023 the company had a workforce of 121 but that fell to 109 in the previous accounting period. The latest report shows that the average number of employees in 2025 was down to 90.
Of these, 59 are described as ‘architectural staff’ – a decrease of 18 from 2024. The wage bill reduced accordingly from £6.2 million to £5.4 million.
The directors’ report attached to the latest accounts states that the company had made a ‘profit for a third successive year’, but profit before tax also dropped markedly.
In 2024 the company made a profit of £1.72 million. This almost halved to £872,ooo in 2025.
The practice attributed the decline in financial performance to projects moving into later stages and a slower start to new work during what it described as a ‘challenging 2025’.
However, the company said it had a strong pipeline of future schemes, stating in its director report that: ‘[We] were successful in securing four new major projects, including a residential and public realm project in Belgium; a workplace project in London; a mixed-use tower in Brazil; and a culture and education campus in the UAE.’
Details of neither the Brazil tower nor the Middle East project have yet been made public.
Earlier this year the practice revealed plans for a 22-storey office tower at 133 Houndsditch in London – Chipperfield’s first new building in the Square Mile and the practice’s tallest scheme in this country to date.
The practice declined to comment further on the figures, but the company’s report adds: ‘Our appeal to the UK workplace and educational sectors has been strengthened through several promising studies undertaken, which may be realised in the new year.’
Nevertheless, the company saw workloads fall in the UK, dropping from £2.2 million last year to £1.7 million. There was an even bigger drop in its Middle East income, which shrank from £4.5 million in 2024 to £1.4 million in 2025.
However, there was growth elsewhere in Europe, where turnover went up from £931,000 to £1.2 million, and in North America, where fees rose from £7.1 million to £8.2 million.
The salary of the highest-paid director, who is not named, went up from £195,713 to £260,688.
Next month the practice’s transformation of Banco Santander’s historic headquarters into a new 10,000m² gallery for the bank’s art collection will be officially opened in a ceremony attended by King Filipe VI of Spain.
In March, David Chipperfield Architects made the shortlist to design a new cultural venue in Barcelona – the only British practice among the five finalists in The Liceu Mar International Architecture Competition.
Visualisation of David Chipperfield Architects’ 133 Houndsditch scheme for a July 2026 consultation
Source: Secchi Smith